


no pressure here, this is kinda a safe zone

by blazingmushroom



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M, Protective Morality | Patton Sanders, Respecting Boundaries is our kink, Roman would without a doubt be a theater kid, So is consent, Virgil Protection Squad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 11:03:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazingmushroom/pseuds/blazingmushroom
Summary: “Roman, no-““Before you say it-““I said it before-““And I’m not here to change your mind, or anything like that!”-The school's renowned theater geek makes an offer Virgil thought he would refuse.





	no pressure here, this is kinda a safe zone

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this.

With the way he was staring Roman, it was astounding he didn’t have a hold burned through his face.

If anything, it was also shocking that that no one in the theater had noticed how much of a mess he was for the school’s theater geek.

Every Friday and every other Tuesday, Virgil would sit somewhere on the furthest row from the stage. (Virgil made it a point to have his visits to the after school rehearsals be both sporadic and planned out, so no one could catch on). Then, he would wait.

He would do his homework sometimes, unless it was Roman on stage. If it was, he would watch him intently, but not so intently that other people would notice.

Either way, he still came to the theater every so often. Just to watch his friend perform, and sometimes walk home with him.

Definitely not to ogle at how he looked and acted in his natural habitat. Certainly not. He was only a friend supporting another friend. Simple as that.

For a moment, Roman seemed to glance at Virgil. He shot him a soft smile and waved in his direction.

Although Virgil could barely see it clearly, his heart melted at the sight. He gave him a thumbs up as casually as he could, paired with a tight smile.

He was such a freaking mess for the brunet, and he himself knew it.

After an hour or two, Virgil packed up his things. Roman usually stopped by his row once rehearsal ended, so he had to be at least somewhat prepared.

And speaking of the devil, Virgil watched Roman dash up to him.

“I still don’t know why you like sitting in this row. Few people do.” Roman set his bag on the ground next to Virgil, causing the latter to pick up his own bag and curl it in towards him.

“I guess I’m one in a million then.” Virgil joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Or maybe I just don’t want to see your gross face up close.”

“Har har. Very funny, smart aleck.” Rolling his eyes, Roman sat on the seat next to him. “But you know you can sit in the front, if you want. It’s not as if they’re reserved for someone else.”

Making a small smile, Virgil hugged his backpack closer to him. “I’ll have you know that I like sitting here. Besides, I don’t really want to bother anyone.”

“And I promise that you wouldn’t!” Roman claimed, leaning in closer to his friend to try and see his face. “It’s not like we’re going to flat out ignore you either. We like having an audience. It kind of pressures us to strive to do better, and it makes failing to do so fun.”

“In what way is failing fun?” Virgil questioned, lifting up his face a tiny bit, to which Roman would only be able to see his eyes. “Plus, I don’t want to pressure anyone. Sitting here is the safest place in the theater.” Other than being next to Princey, which is where he was currently, not that he was going to admit that. He didn’t know how or why, but something about the theater nerd made him compelled to tell the truth and spill his guts.

“Failing is amazing around here. Everyone laughs and moves on from it. You tend to laugh at yourself too.” Roman reached out his hand to smooth Virgil’s own bangs out of his face, making him relax his grip on the backpack. “And it isn’t the pressure you’re thinking of. It’s the pressure to make you laugh and feel the same things we’re feeling. I promise you, our little theater family would love to have you join us.”

It was times like these that Virgil could see how much Roman clearly loved being a part of the theater. Even from those few sentences, Virgil legitimately felt how much Roman adored performing, and how much it meant to him. And the fact that Roman wanted him to-

“Wait…” Virgil paused, furrowing his eyebrows, “What do you mean by ‘join us`?”

Roman’s smile faltered slightly (a sight that Virgil nearly cringed at), before looking down to lick his lips. “You can take those words to how you want them. You can join us by going to front row once in awhile, or you can-“

“Roman, no-“

“Before you say it-“

“I said it before-“

“And I’m not here to change your mind, or anything like that!” the brunet soothed. Inwardly, Virgil hated how he even needed to be comforted, and how he was immediately so disturbed by the idea that he had to interrupt Roman twice.

As if sensing his thoughts, Roman sneaked his hand into Virgil’s, and gave it a gentle squeeze. Looking up at him, Roman rubbed a circle on the back of his hand with his thumb. “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to come the front row, you’re always welcome to join us. Always.”

Virgil looked down at their conjoined hands, only for Roman to pick his chin up. “I mean it. We won’t pay you no mind, and if you don’t want us to talk to you, then we won’t. I know I can’t speak for everybody, but we’ll respect you choices.” Roman winked at him, before smiling a Cheshire grin. “And with what I was implying earlier, you’re always welcome to join us on stage.”

“Aren’t you guys in the middle of a show?”

“There’s always room for someone backstage! You can be the operation of the lights, the set, the costumes, the props, the actors-” Noticing that Virgil was getting a tad overwhelmed, Roman stopped. “Of course, that will only be if you want to. You shouldn’t be forced to do anything you don’t want to do. I won’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Virgil was silent for a moment, thinking back to those words. It was really sweet that Roman was respecting his boundaries, so it would be rude to refuse his offer. Then again, he was just told by said Princey that he shouldn’t feel obligated to do anything he didn’t want to do.

Did he want to join him?

Realizing that his friend could be thinking himself into a dead end, Roman waved his hand to catch Virgil’s attention. “Of course, you don’t have to decide today! We can settle those matters later, if you want to talk about it again. The theater is going to close soon, so-”

“Calm down, Princey.” It was rather ironic he was the one saying those words. “How about this...I’ll join you guys every Tuesday and Friday until the next show. When it’s the next show...I’ll see if I want to join you guys on stage. Deal?”

Roman stared at Virgil in disbelief, as if he was so surprised by Virgil’s decision that he was stunned into silence. He switched back quickly, to display and soft grin. “Deal!” He squeezed the hand he was holding, making Virgil squeeze his own. “Now c’mon! They’re going to turn the lights off soon.”

Getting their bags, they both walked out of the theater, still hand in hand, a detail Virgil tried to pay no mind to.

**Author's Note:**

> “So are you gonna do it?”
> 
> “I already agreed, so I can’t really say no, can I?” Virgil murmured into his pillow. The moment Roman dropped him home, he collapsed on his bed, face first.
> 
> “You’re allowed to say no at any time, kiddo. No one’s forcing you to do anything.”
> 
> “That’s the thing, Patton.” Virgil picked up his phone to unpause the video call. “I want to do it…”
> 
> “Then I believe that you can do it.” Patton chirped, in a way to try and comfort his friend. “I really think you can do it-”
> 
> “But I have absolutely no idea about theater!” he interjected, the sudden realization causing him to interupt Patton. “ I’m going to look stupid in front of everyone, shit, I’m going to look stupid in front of him-”
> 
> “Language!” Patton instinctedy scolded, before smiling kindy at him. “You and I both know that Roman would probably teach you everything you need to know. And you have a few weeks until the club’s next show, right? I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”
> 
> Virgil knew Patton had a good point, but he couldn’t help but doubt his words. “Pat, that only gives me about six rehearsals, since there‘s only like three weeks until the next show. Being positive won’t do me any good-”
> 
> “Kiddo, I’m not telling you to be positive. I’m telling you to give it a shot. Look at me.” Althought they were only talking on the phone, Virgil could almost feel the comforting vibes Patton was giving out. Now locking eyes, Patton began again. “You seem so excited about it. And you told me a few minutes ago that you want to try it out. And I have no right to say what Roman wants, but I’m pretty sure that he would rather have you enjoy yourself than continue watching from a distance.”
> 
> Licking his lips, Virgil closed his eyes and did his best to calm the raging ball of worry steaming in his chest. “Okay then. I’ll try my best. Thanks, dad.”
> 
> “I know you will. You always do.” Patton met Virgil’s grateful smile with a leveled stare. “Now I think it’s for the best that you go to sleep. Today’s a school night, afterall.”
> 
> “Alright, alright.” At the mention of sleep, Virgil got up from his bed to stretch and yawn. “You go to sleep too, Pat. As much as you ignore it, you’re still the same age as me and you need your sleep too.”
> 
> “You gotcha, kiddo. Now go catch some z’s. Sleep with a butterfly net or something.”
> 
> “Hah. You too. I’m surprised you didn’t come up with any puns during this conversation.” 
> 
> “It was a heart to heart one. I didn’t want to ruin it.”
> 
> “You could never.” Virgil assured. “See you tomorrow.”
> 
> “See yah!” And with that, the call ended.


End file.
